Coatesville hires new police chief (VIDEO)

COATESVILLE — A new police chief was unanimously approved by City Council on Tuesday night ending a five-month saga over the future leadership of the department.

Stephen Johnson, a deputy commissioner with the City of Philadelphia Police Department, was approved with six votes of council, while Councilman Jeffrey LoPrinzi was absent on Tuesday. The hiring comes after the failure of council to approve state police Maj. John Laufer in September. The city administration and council seemed please with the selection of Johnson.

“You can’t get just anybody like this,” City Manager Kirby Hudson said. “I thought we may have missed the boat with Mr. Laufer, but now we have somebody of great stature. He’s what Coatesville needs and will help revamp and turn this city around.”

Johnson attended a council executive session on Tuesday, but left prior to the meeting. Hudson said when Johnson left it was unclear if council was going to place the approval on Tuesday’s agenda. Hudson said Johnson had no idea he was going to be hired on Tuesday when he left City Hall.

Hudson said Johnson has asked for a 30-day window to finish up his duties in Philadelphia before beginning as chief in Coatesville. He will make $90,000 per year, which is about a $5,000 reduction from what former Chief Julius Canale made, according to Hudson.

Johnson currently oversees the Philadelphia Police Office of Professional Responsibility, which investigates internal affairs, harassment or hostile work environments and any corruption. The Coatesville department is currently under investigation by the state attorney general’s office over an internal investigation of a sexual affair between two officers that turned criminal. The city has also recently settled lawsuits concerning claims of racial discrimination within the department and has other suits with similar claims still outstanding.

Council President David Collins said Johnson’s experience overseeing internal affairs is an added bonus given the current issues within Coatesville’s department.

“He brings a breadth and depth of knowledge of not only the good things it take to run a police department, but also some of the bad things he has experienced that he is able to bring with him,” Collins said.

Police union President Shawn Dowds said the officers are happy to get a full-time chief in the department for the first time since the end of May and are pleased it is a candidate with the credentials of Johnson.

“I think everybody is excited to get a person in here like this to run the department,” Dowds said.

Johnson has served as a police officer in Philadelphia for 35 years. He became a lieutenant within 15 years and has served as a deputy commissioner since 2008. He began as deputy commissioner overseeing the homeland security and domestic preparedness division of the police department. He was then transferred to internal affairs in 2010.

Johnson has received numerous regional and national awards for his police service and has been involved with numerous community organizations over the tenure of his career.

With Johnson’s hiring, interim Chief Jim Bell will be relieved of his duties. Hudson said there will likely be a transitional period where Bell will stay on until Johnson gets acclimated, but he did not have a time frame for that transition.

Bell told council that he was happy to have had the opportunity and had learned a lot in his short time with the city. The former Valley chief did ask to be considered for the full-time position, but he was eventually passed over in favor of Johnson. He said he was disappointed but thought council had made a “wise choice” to hire Johnson.

The need for a permanent police chief in Coatesville began in May when Canale took an early-retirement package from the city. He then agreed to a day-to-day contract with the city on temporary basis to oversee the transitional period. Canale eventually officially retired in July without any movement on a new chief. Sgt. James Audette was named as the officer in charge of the department. He had all the duties and responsibilities of a temporary chief but was not given that title.

In August, Bell was hired as interim chief while a selection committee was finishing up its process to find a full-time chief. The committee eventually found Laufer, who did not garner council’s approval. The committee then went out and recruited Johnson to be the lone candidate the second time around.